Back from vacation & update on Caitlin

First of all...had a GREAT vacation! Couldn't have asked for anything better! We got to see all sorts of sealife, more than ever before! Caitlin was still the explorer of the group and managed to find the rarer things that the captain of the snorkeling trip said we wouldn't find. She was the most thrilled with finding two sea horses! She also found a huge horseshoe crab that they said was the biggest they had seen in a long time. Both of my girls also saw two sea turtles in the water, but the rest of us weren't close enough to see it. Caitlin even swam in the water with sharks (4 to 7 feet in length) and wasn't a bit afraid of them. (I got mad when I found out she didn't get out of the water, but she kept telling me they were harmless as well as my husband, who fished alongside of sharks who were just curious.) We all saw at least a few sharks but mostly from a distance. Got to see some dolphins as well! Couldn't believe that Florida could have blue water! In the past it was always a greenish color but still somewhat clear...just not clear enough for snorkeling. Oh, and we also got a ton of scallops and that was fun! Neat to see the blue eyes all around them and they were fun to hold!

Had Caitlin's appointment this morning...all was great! Her count is still at 56 on the minimum dose! Got 4 weeks to take home so we don't go back until next month!!! She will start the Plaquenil as soon as we see the opthomologist which has been difficult to find for children that has an opening anytime soon! Hope all is well with your children and I head back to work next week! It has been a good summer though!

Pauline - I'm so glad you had a good time. I'm jealous of the sea horse spotting - they are my absolute favorites! I have a crystal sea horse collection and a bathroom decorated with sea horses. They are beautiful.

I agree! They are beautiful! I've only gotten to see them at our World Aquarium that we have downtown. Wish we had been able to get a photo, but I forgot to buy a water camera before we went on the boat!

Caitlin's encounter with sharks has encouraged me to share Dougie's no. 1 holiday activity - tombstoning! His brothers were doing it all the time when we were in Greece, and I eventually gave in on the basis that it can't be worse for ITP than theme parks and he is allowed to go to those - lots of bruising but you'd expect that, and he really loved it! Can't decide whether or not this makes me an irresponsible parent.....

Ali

Ali: I'm new to ITP world, my daughter was diagnosed in May 2010 but I don't think you were irresponsible at all for letting Dougie enjoy life. If some bruising is all that occurred and he had a blast then I say good decision.

Ah thanks Destin92 - my mum was right annoyed with me when she saw the photos of his brothers doing it, never mind Dougie. I think it was fine really; we made sure that they only jumped if they had seen a Greek (i.e. a local) doing it at that spot first!

I've been reading your other posts - being a parent can be worrying at the best of times, never mind if your kid then goes and gets ITP. Its very easy to let the worrying get out of hand, but life goes on, even with ITP. My son ignores it most of the time, and I think that is probably the right approach for him at least. The doctor says to treat it as a risk factor and not an illness and that really works for me as a way to calm down when I worry too much - doesn't mean anything WILL happen, just that it is more likely to do so than for other people, therefore you might sometimes want to make adjustments to your lifestyle. 30-50 is a pretty decent count, especially at the 50 end - Dougie's consultant says that you could go through life on 50 and not have any significant problems. I hope your daughter improves soon anyhow.

Ali

Beautiful photo, Ali! Makes me want to go to Greece! (And to be a kid again.)
Norma

Norma

It was surprisingly beautiful and very relaxed - I would recommend it highly.

Just so as you know what to do when you get there, here is another holiday photo!

Ali